Do we need more high school football on TV?

10:19 PM,
Aug. 21, 2013

In this July 3 file photo, defensive lineman Jalyn Holmes (53) battles offensive lineman Trevor Darling (73) during the Lineman Challenge session of the 'The Opening' at Nike World Headquarters in Beaverton, Ore. As sports networks seek more programming, more and more high school games are headed towards national television.

Written by

JIM HALLEY
USA TODAY Sports

ESPN is televising, on its various networks, 26 high school games this season, including 13 this weekend. With the newly launched Fox Sports 1 also running a schedule of seven games, there are nationally televised high school games on every weekend through Nov. 1, including games every day of the week except for Tuesday and Wednesday.

Is all this exposure good for high school sports?

"The whole landscape of high school football has changed because of television," Manatee (Bradenton, Fla.) coach Joe Kinnan said. Manatee has played games on ESPN networks in two of the past three seasons. "It's ...